<i>The legacy of politics</i>
We have tried just about every form of government in last thirty-six years; if the fundamentals of statecraft are not yet resolved, there is need to look deeper to identify and remove the snags. If we do not read history, efforts to build a future may tumble down again and again on weak foundations. Emotional misjudgements on complex political issues have been the core of endless miseries. It was Dhaka that gave birth to the Muslim League in 1906; A K Fazlul Huq moved the Pakistan resolution in 1940. Swayed by the slogan of 'Larke Lenga Pakistan' the safeguards essential within physically truncated and culturally diverse Pakistan for the empowerment of the majority Bengalis had not been sought. That I suppose was the beginning of the series of blunders for which people had to pay in blood and sweat for quarter of a century of Pakistan. The rudest shock came when Mr. Jinnah himself, right in Dhaka in 1948, declared that Urdu would be the only national language. The leaders of East Pakistan were either in deafening applause or in callous silence on the declaration of their Quid-e-Azam (supreme leader). Politicians of consequence nowhere to be seen, the students, defying authority, went on the streets spearheading the language movement that sowed the seeds of Bangladesh. Due to faulty and failed leadership the students never really came back from the streets. By any logic, Dhaka, the city of the majority, should have been the capital of Pakistan but it went to Karachi, the hometown of Mr. Jinnah, subsequently another 1000 miles of land journey, to Islamabad, the hometown of the Pakistan Army. Khawaja Nazimuddin, Hussein Shaheed Shuhrawardy and Mohammed Ali of Bogra were prime ministers of Pakistan. One of the leaders representing this wing, conceding parity formula between the wings that denied the majority rights of Bengalis, threatened to pass the 1956 Constitution by ordinance if not accepted. Betrayal was homegrown and still continues in the vitiated political culture. Punjabis, Pathans, Sindhis, Baluchis, even assorted migrants from India never gave up their ethnic identities; unfortunately, many leaders of the then East Pakistan were shy of calling themselves Bangali. Bengali language and culture was low caste identity for them. Struggle for Bangladesh was more of a cultural revolution for identity. Independent Bangladesh could not break away from the ruler-and-the-ruled legacy of politics. The fatal mistake of '73 constitution was a unitary government and a unicameral legislature that concentrated absolute power to the government without accountability and gave people only one vote in five years with 'take it or leave it' attitude. Election was made increasingly expensive and volatile, affordable only by the rich and powerful. Concentration of power in Dhaka had robbed the people their earnestly needed local and middle governments for their needs. Four layers of colonial administration in Thana (PS) Sub-division, District and Divisions had been left intact to the bureaucrats to rule over the natives. As a result, the people continued to be subjects of the bureaucrats; citizens only once in five years during the façade of election to legitimise the political masters. A farmer, cowboy, or rural living is the cultural pride of western democracies. Where is democracy when 70% people still live in the villages; but 'graimma' / 'gaaiyan' (rural resident) is an abuse among elite culture. The politicians, bureaucrats, intellectuals, everybody loves Bangladesh but paradoxically not the people who are poor and uncultured for the 'brahmins'. Post liberation constitution had the greatest opportunity to institutionalise the central, provincial and local governments to contain elitism and empower people. People could chose and participate in their local governments for immediate needs: law and order, education, commerce, industry at regional level, and of course the central government for national and international affairs. Layers of government would have brought the government near home and provided experience and progressive ladder for the national leadership. Many rural and small town habitants are educated and capable of public offices but the political bosses entrenched in the capital hijacked all powers to Dhaka. Politics mean power and power means Dhaka. The colonial rulers were bold to say the natives were unfit to rule themselves; the 1973 Constitution championed the people but deprived the political rights by built-in deception. The wide gap between the rulers and the ruled never really shrunk in spite of the independence and elections. It is absurd that the improvement of a village road needs sanctioning of the authority in the capital, as no other authority exists in Bangladesh. Absolute political power has also sucked in all business and financial powers in Dhaka. Even the colonial masters never had so much concentration of power in one centre. The accountability was the first casualty of the absolute power. No wonder Bangladesh had become the most corrupt country in the world. When we walk into a government office for some service or try to keep the telephones talking, the only logic that matters is money to evade harassment. The bureaucracy that continues to be the tool of repression is the persistent failure of the leadership. The 'Yes Minister' rightly depicted, bureaucracy, no matter how brilliant, has no colour nor has self-generating capacity. Political guidance and supervision is their lighthouse. How long people will beg to bureaucracy and bribe them for their needs? The corrupt politicians apprehending anger of the deprived people, in collusion with romantic socialists, flattered Bangabandhu with slogans like 'Aak neta aak desh Bangabandhu Bangladesh'. Under flattery and extreme sycophancy, Bangabandhu proved to be a human. A quick fix solution of district governors was imposed on the people along with an effort to seal their mouth - the one party BAKSAL. Freedom and democracy shut out in barely 7 minutes - the fastest recorded coup against the people by their representatives in parliamentary history. The undoing of the spirit of the liberation and democracy was complete and the people travelled a light-year backward. The government lost much of its face due to misrule and corruption, but the towering personality of Bangabandhu still could have led the people democratically towards the reforms. One who struggled all his life for democracy and the 'Rights of the People', it is difficult to conceive, he was a dictator at heart; must have been cajoled into BAKSAL by the sycophants and corrupts around him. More than three decades have passed since Bangabandhu made the first move of decentralization which he could not complete. Meanwhile the population has more than doubled to 145 million now and still increasing at an alarming rate. The administrative divisions have more people to attend to today than the province of East Bengal. The best homage we can pay to Bangabandhu is through decentralization of political power into three layers of local, regional and central governments that will bring essential services near home and democracy to the people. This, I suppose, is the only way to cultivate accountability in democracy and pay homage to the liberators of Bangladesh. The author is a freelancer.
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